


Just In CASE

by peachMeowchi



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Comedy, First Meetings, Other, Reader is Very Awkward, Reader is cool they promise, Reader is not Frisk or Chara, Reader rides a motorcycle, Sans POV added, gender neutral reader, light hearted, maybe light fluff towards the end, one tier TWO swear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-10-19 07:15:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17596829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peachMeowchi/pseuds/peachMeowchi
Summary: You look up sharply as he bends forward, one hand coming out of his pocket to cover his mouth, which does absolutely nothing to hide his mirth. You are beyond embarrassed, but you can only sputter as you watch him nearly keel over.“you- wh-” he tries to speak, “are you f- are you serious?” he suddenly laughs so hard it seems to pain him- he stops for a second to gasp and grab his middle, then keeps going, trailing off into quiet giggles.“D-don't tell anybody!” you shout, then glance around quickly at some people walking by on the path, lowering your volume swiftly when they look over, “I-I'm still cool!"________In which Reader shares their Dark Secret with a complete stranger who they literally just met to avoid looking like a rude jerk.





	1. Reader

**Author's Note:**

> not my first try at a fic like this, but it's the first one i'm posting, hope ya liked it. this is just something that popped into my head the other day, and i thought it was funny, so i wrote it down.

 

“you gonna set up and play somethin'?” a voice startles you out of your thoughts, and you look up from your motorcycle.

You had just parked in one of the spaces outside the park and taken off your helmet when they spoke up, and you were surprised to see that it was a grinning skeleton monster who had approached you, standing nearby with his hands deep in the pockets of his big, blue hoodie.

“Oh-um-huh?” you stutter, and you see his grin grow a little wider as you climb off of your bike, trying not to trip over your own feet in front of him. You guess he's talking about the guitar case you have strapped to your back, and your suspicions are confirmed when the small, glowing lights in his large eye sockets flicker to the case and then back to you quickly.

“your guitar,” he clarifies, and you idly note that his teeth don't actually seem to open as he speaks, “you gonna set up somewhere? i see you drive by sometimes,” and he trails off, shrugging, “just wonderin' if you're gonna play today.”

“Oh! Well-” you begin to feel anxious, rubbing the back of your neck out of habit and averting your eyes. You fake a cough to bide yourself some time while you tug your cool sunglasses out of your pocket and jam them onto your face.

“s'cool if not,” he says after a beat of silence, seeming a little put out by how clearly uncomfortable you are, and oh, right, he's a _monster_ , of course he _would_ be, you probably look like _such_ an asshole right now, but- “i'll leave you to it,” he's saying as he turns away, and you panic.

“W-wait!” you call out as he starts to walk into the park, and he stops, turning back as you approach him quickly, “It's not- I just-”

“never met a monster before,” it's not a question, and he looks very tired as he says it, his tone long-suffering and almost exasperated, his seemingly ever-present grin flattening. He stares at you, and you become even more flustered.

“Well! Kind of!” and it's true, though you've spoken to monsters before, you've never been approached by them in a non-professional setting, but that's _not why you're acting like this_ , and, “But, it's not! What you think! I-” you look around hurriedly, as if checking for eavesdroppers, and you can tell he's confused, but is being patient with you. You lean in and lower your voice, as if you're telling him a secret, “The- the guitar case... it's empty.”

He just stares at you for a moment.

“uh, ok,” he chuckles, still looking confused. He shuffles his feet a bit, “why?”

“Well- uh- I-” as you speak, you can feel your face heat up a little, but you'd rather be embarrassed than look like a huge prick. You push your sunglasses up a little further on your face as you straighten your back, “I don't- I don't actually... own a guitar,” you admit, “and I don't know... how to play one.”

He continues to stare, as if he's not sure how to react to this information. You pull the guitar case off your back then, a conspiratory look on your face as you decide to show him, just in case he thinks you're making this up to mess with him. Taking one last cursory glance around, you crack the empty case open a few inches, just enough for him to look inside, which he does. Then he looks back at your face, which feels like it's on fire as you snap the case shut again.

“I just- bought the case,” you stutter out, slinging it back over your shoulder and putting your hands on your hips nervously, “because- on the bike, it- it makes me look... cool,” your voice gets very quiet towards the end, and you continue, “I was- um... I wasn't- I never planned for anybody to actually ask me to _play_ , I was- I was just... um, I was gonna...” you were going to just walk around the park for an hour or so, trying to look like you had just _finished_ playing. You purse your lips, and stare pointedly at the ground, “I was... just gonna walk around,” you don't get any farther in your explanation before what you're saying finally seems to register with him, and he absolutely _guffaws_ with laughter.

You look up sharply as he bends forward, one hand coming out of his pocket to cover his mouth, which does absolutely nothing to hide his mirth. You are beyond embarrassed, but you can only sputter as you watch him nearly keel over.

“you- wh-” he tries to speak, “are you f- are you serious?” he suddenly laughs so hard it seems to pain him- he stops for a second to gasp and grab his middle, then keeps going, trailing off into quiet giggles.

“D-don't tell anybody!” you shout, then glance around quickly at some people walking by on the path, lowering your volume swiftly when they look over, “I-I'm still cool! I'm really cool, just-” he laughs harder, and you start to wave your hands around in meaningless, nervous gestures, “I-it just- it matches the bike!” this does not help the situation, and he lets out a fresh peal of giggles as you add, with a note of desperation, “I'm really cool!! I promise!”

“yeah- no- shit-” he gasps, seeming to try to force himself to calm down, “i'm sorry- yeah, you're- you're cool,” his voice wavers slightly, and he starts giggling again, but says with sincerity, “you're really cool.” It surprises you that he doesn't sound sarcastic at all, and his expression seems genuine, his smile pulled up at the corners and his eyes crinkling slightly with amusement- but your face is still burning with shame. You shuffle your feet, looking down.

“I- I can-” you find yourself mumbling haltingly, your hands moving back to your hips, “I can do... some, uh... card... tricks...”

This earns you more laughter, and you're about to just storm off when he suddenly thrusts a hand out, his frame still shaking with barely-restrained giggles.

“i'm sans,” he says, the lights in his eyes bright and wide and focused right on you, “sans the skeleton,” you grumble a little, but you can't actually summon up any real anger in the face of his genuine compliment from before, so you begrudgingly take his hand, giving it a shake. It's just as hard as you thought it would be, being made of bone and all, but it's surprisingly not cold at all.

You introduce yourself, and your tone is a little sullen because you're sulking, but this only seems to make him smile _more_. He tucks his hand back into his pocket.

“i won't-” but he breaks off for a moment, chuckling before he goes on, holding up one hand in a way that's clearly meant to be a placating gesture, “i won't tell anybody. honest.”

Your shoulders sag, and you must look really relieved, because his smile curves up further, and his eye sockets turn into little half moons, the bottoms flattening out in what looks to be a real, genuine smile. It's reassuring, in a way, and you can't help but smile back, just a little. Then, you clear your throat.

“Um, thanks,” you mutter, “N-not that I'm worried, it's just-”

“your secret's safe with me,” he says, chuckling again and nodding behind him towards the park that spans out beyond the gate, “you wanna walk? i know a real nice bench we can sit on an' _not_ play the guitar,” and you can't help it- you snort out a laugh, then quickly collect yourself and look away at the trees in a way that's meant to seem contemplative, but you're still too flustered to pull it off.

“Well!” you cough into your fist, “if you want! That's fine!” and you try not to sound too excited that this random stranger- Sans, he said- wants to just sit and chat with you, “I'd be- yeah- I mean, sure, that sounds fine!” He's laughing lightly, and it doesn't sound unkind- not that it had sounded unkind earlier, either. He gestures for you to follow him, and you do, matching his slow pace with ease.

“so, you got any cards on you?” he asks, and you bark out a laugh, covering your mouth and shaking your head.

“Um, no,” you manage, and he starts laughing, too, “No, I don't.”

 


	2. Sans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm finally caving and typing this out on mobile, cause i just want to post this chapter already. it's been done for like two weeks. i just don't have internet access right now
> 
> anyway, thank you so much for the support on this story?? there was a sudden spike in activity the other day, after it had calmed down to basically nothing, and it made me wonder if someone shared this?? i don't know who or where, but thank you, if someone did link this somewhere!! that's so cool!

He'd seen you around before.

He had started coming to the park regularly, because Papyrus had taken to nagging him when he sat around the house all day. Since Grillby hadn't quite managed to get his business licence above ground yet (despite the fact that monsters had been free for a little over a year now), he didn't have much to else to do, and he wasn't allowed to sell illegal hotdogs outside the mall (and the beach, and town square, and anywhere else that was big enough to fit a stand and had good foot traffic) anymore, not after Tori had caught him. But who wanted to _work_ all the time, anyway?

Aside from Papyrus, that is. The guy couldn't sit still, and while he didn't necessarily have a job yet, he did help Tori and Asgore however he could, or he'd spend his time training with Undyne, helping Frisk study, etc... Sans admired his work ethic, he just didn't have the same amount of energy. He preferred sitting, napping, or reading, and what better place to do one or _all_ of those things than the park, where he could just sit among the trees and look up at the sky _whenever he wanted?_

He didn't know if he'd ever get used to how nice it was, but he hoped he'd get the chance. 

The first time he'd seen you, he hadn't really even given you a second look after he'd spotted you at the stoplight. He'd taken a shortcut to the park, and was walking down the sidewalk when you revved your engine- you looked cool, leaning forward over the handle bars of your motorcycle, with your black jacket, blacked-out helmet, and the big guitar case strapped to your back. You looked like the type of person his brother might admire in passing. He could just imagine Papyrus spotting you, and then inevitably wanting his own bike, though his would be _cherry red_ , of course, since that was the 'coolest color'. 

The thought had made him chuckle on his way into the park.

The next few times he saw you, you were passing the park again. You had a guitar, so he imagined you worked at some bar or cafe and played music for a living. He was beginning to wonder if you worked nearby, or maybe if this was the route you took home. Either way, he found himself watching each time as you whizzed by on your bike, and each time he felt a tiny stab of curiosity about where you were headed.

The more he noticed you, the more he noticed that you seemed to drive by at sporadic times during the day. Sometimes he'd see you drive by more than once, and sometimes he wouldn't see you at all. He felt some detached sense of familiarity with you, after a while, in the same way he felt familiar with the joggers who frequented the park, and the dogs, and, by extention, the humans who _walked_ said dogs. He'd never really said more than a word to them here and there in passing, nothing beyond a polite 'hello', or 'good morning', but he still felt like he _knew_ them, in a sense, like he was part of their little community just by existing in the same space as them for so long.

So, when he stepped out of his shortcut one day and saw you pull into a parking space outside the park, he decided he'd go and talk to you, maybe con you out of an impromptu concert, or something. You had your guitar with you, after all, so you must have been planning on playing in the park anyway.

"you gonna set up and play somethin'?" he asked as he sidled over to you, and you looked up, startled like you might have been spacing out a little.

"Oh- um- huh?" you stuttered, as you climbed down from your bike, and it made him grin a little wider. He glanced pointedly at the guitar case that was peaking up over one of your shoulders, then back at you. Was it just him, or were you starting to look uncomfortable? Hoping it had been caused by whatever you were thinking about before, he shelved the thought.

"your guitar," he went on, as if you might have forgotten, "you gonna set up somewhere? i see you drive by sometimes," he let his sentence hang there for a second, then shrugged, "just wonderin' if you're gonna play today."

"Oh! Well-" your hand seemed to fly reflexively to the back of your neck, and you started to rub it nervously. Then you coughed, almost scrambling to shove a pair of dark sunglasses on, and he was beginning to wonder if there was something on his face, or-

Oh.

Right.

He'd gotten so used to the people being chill with him at the park and the convenience store he frequented to avoid crowds, he'd forgotten all about the humans he'd been bombarded with last year when monsters had first surfaced. Back before he'd started shutting himself up in the house, never wandering further than the back yard, most days. The ones who were either uncomfortable with sharing the surface with monsters, or were overly excited about them and treated them like a novelty or a tourist attraction. 

Seemed like you might be one of the former. With a supreme effort, he managed not to sigh.

"s'cool if not," he said, a little disappointed in spite of himself. Monsters in general were pretty understanding- they saw the good in everyone first, after all. Sans was a little too tired of dealing with this type of human, though. "i'll leave you to it," he was saying, and he turned away to leave you alone, completely missing the frantic look on your face.

"W-wait!" you called after him, and he paused, glancing over his shoulder to see you rushing to catch up to him, looking a little upset, "It's not- I just-"

"never met a monster before," he said, his grin flattening from exhaustion. He'd heard it a million times before, and he was tired of it, even though he hadn't had anybody say it to him in months, fortunately. It wasn't the kind of thing you were suddenly okay with again, just because it had been a while.

"Well! Kind of!" you blustered, and it might have been humorous under different circumstances, "But, it's not! What you think! I-" you broke off and, oddly enough, glanced around as if checking to see if anybody was listening. Then you leaned in and said, with the air of someone sharing important and confidential information, "The- the guitar case... it's empty."

He only stared at you for a moment.

Well. This was not how he thought this interaction was going to go.

"uh, ok," he said after a moment, allowing himself a cautious chuckle as he shuffled his feet, "why?"

"Well- uh- I-" your face was starting to heat up in embarrassment, and _oh_ , okay then. Was _this_ why you were uncomfortable earlier? He hoped so. You pushed your sunglasses up further on the bridge of your nose, despite the fact that they hadn't slipped down at all, and straightened your posture, "I don't- I don't actually... own a guitar," you said, sounding a little ashamed, "and I don't know... how to play one."

He didn't know what to say to that, so he stayed quiet, trying and failing to collect his thoughts while the cogs in his mind started speeding up. As if noticing this, you pulled the guitar case off your back and, a conspiratory look on your face, you glanced around once more before cracking it open slowly, as if it contained some kind of illegal paraphernalia. It was just enough for him to look inside and see that, yes, the only thing in that guitar case was air and what appeared to be a soft, felt lining. He glanced back at you, noting how flushed your face was under your big sunglasses. You quickly snapped the case shut, as if afraid someone might see.

All of this was actually kind of... endearing? But it was completely throwing him for a loop. He'd seen you so often that he'd unintentionally started thinking of you as this cool musician, and here you were, flustered and floundering to explain yourself to a complete stranger, all while drawing yourself up like you could somehow salvage your stoic demeanor. All of this, despite the fact that you'd come here and had deliberately parked and dismounted your bike with the case strapped to your back, fully intending on entering the park like that. Not to mention that you _always_ had that case strapped to your back, he'd seen you drive by on this street for weeks now. It was _intentional_.

To suddenly learn that you didn't even _own_ a guitar? That you didn't even know how to _play_ one? 

It was-

"I just- bought the case," you were saying, stuttering as you slung your guitar case back over your shoulder and put your hands on your hips. Something suddenly clicked in his head, and "because- on the bike, it- it makes me look... cool," you went on, clearly embarrassed, your voice lowering considerably, "I was- um... I wasn't- I never planned for anybody to actually ask me to _play_ , I was- I was just... um, I was gonna..." you trailed off, but he didn't really need to know what you had been planning on doing, because he could _guess_. You suddenly stared pointedly at the ground, just missing the broad grin that split his features as he fought to keep from laughing. "I was... just gonna walk around," you said, and he couldn't help how he suddenly burst out in laughter, completely cutting off your explanation. 

He doubled over, one hand moving to his mouth on reflex, as if to hide the sounds of his mirth, despite the fact that his voice was being projected with magic. 

"you- wh-" he could barely get a word out, "are you f- are you serious?" he managed, but he suddenly barked out such a harsh laugh that a pang shot through his ribs and he had to pause to gasp, because this was such a _Papyrus_ thing to do.

Of course, Papyrus would have actually bought a guitar, too, and knowing him, he would have spent weeks learning how to play before even _attempting_ something like this. This thought, combined with your absolute _audacity_... You had been doing this kind of thing for _weeks_ , as far as he knew, possibly for even longer than that.

It made him laugh even more, trailing off into quiet giggles.

"D-don't tell anybody!" you were shouting, and he looked up in time to see you shoot a glance at some passersby as you lowered your volume, "I- I'm still cool! I'm really cool, just-" he couldn't help but laugh a little harder at your panicked insisting, and the way you started flailing about, "I-it just- it matches the bike!" A fresh peal of giggles left him at that, because of _course_ that was your reasoning. The type of person who would ride around on a motorcycle with an empty guitar case all the time was absolutely the type of person who would have done it only to complete their "biker" aesthetic. 

"I'm really cool!! I promise!" you were saying frantically. He had to try and collect himself so he could reassure you before you just up and left.

"yeah- no- shit-" he was gasping, but managed to reign himself in enough to say, "i'm sorry- yeah, you're- you're cool," he started giggling again, went on with sincerity, "you're really cool." Your face was still burning, and you glanced downward, shuffling your feet nervously. 

"I- I can-" you mumbled, your hands moving back to your hips, "I can do... some, uh... card... tricks..." Caught off guard by the sudden volunteering of information that had _nothing_ to do with the situation, as far as he could see, he was sent into another laughing fit. Unless you were just trying to save face somehow, or something?? He knew he was probably pushing his luck, so he quickly stuck out a hand, not even bothering to grab his whoopie cushion first.

"i'm sans," he introduced himself, "sans the skeleton." You were grumbling, but you still shook his hand, which tickled him a little more, though he refrained from laughing this time. 

You introduced yourself, sounding a little sulky, and his grin widened at your tone. He wondered if you liked puns, and while he wasn't sure if he hoped you did or hoped you didn't, he imagined that, either way, you were going to get along famously. He tucked his hand away in his pocket. 

"i won't-" he broke off for a moment, chuckling, and quickly held up a hand with his palm facing outward, as if making a pledge, "i won't tell anybody. honest."

The effect was almost instantaneous. Your shoulders sagged, you let out a tiny breath of relief, and your features relaxed. He found it so endearing that he couldn't help how his expression pulled up into a fond smile, and he was rewarded by a small smile of your own. After a second, though, you cleared your throat, and the smile faded slightly.

"Um, thanks," you mumbled, "N-not that I'm worried, I just-"

"your secret's safe with me," he said quickly, chuckling again as an idea came to him. He nodded behind him towards the park's gate, hoping to talk to you a little longer. Also, if you were with him, nobody might ask you to play. "you wanna walk? i know a real nice bench we can sit on an' _not_ play the guitar," he said, and you snorted out a laugh, surprising him a little and inspiring him to try and make you laugh again. Then, you straightened up and looked away at the trees like... actually, he couldn't really tell what you were trying to pull off here.

"Well!" you were saying, coughing into your fist and suddenly reminding him of a character from one of Alphys' anime shows, and _oh_. Of-fucking- _course_ , that's probably what you were _going for_ , wasn't it? "If you want! That's fine!" you went on, a note of excitement in your voice that made him smile wider, "I'd be- yeah- I mean, sure, that sounds fine!" He chuckled, then gestured for you to follow him, which you did.

"so, you got any cards on you?" he asked as you walked, remembering your comment from earlier. You suddenly barked out a startled laugh, covering your mouth and shaking your head. He decided he really liked how it sounded. 

"Um, no," you said with chagrin, and he let himself start laughing, too, "No, I don't."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reader was an anime all along
> 
> so- i probably won't be responding to any comments on this chapter, but! i will still read and appreciate every single one!!  
> thank you so much for reading, i hope you enjoyed!


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